Trump loyalists handed key Pentagon posts in major reshuffle

Three staunch loyalists to Donald Trump were named to top defence jobs on Tuesday, a day after the US president  fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper.  

Among them was a former Fox News commentator who failed to get through Senate confirmation because of offensive remarks he made, including about Islam.

The abrupt changes sent reverberations through the Pentagon as nervous civilian and military personnel waited for the next shoe to drop. And they fuelled worries of a wider effort to drum out anyone considered not loyal enough to Mr Trump.

The unease was palpable inside the building throughout the day over concerns about what the Trump administration may do in the months before President-elect Joe Biden takes office and whether there will be a greater effort to politicise the historically apolitical military.

While radical policy shifts seem unlikely before the January 20 inauguration, the changes could further damage prospects for a smooth transition already hampered by Mr Trump’s refusal to concede his election loss.

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